When You Get Back
by musicaddict
Summary: What if two men had greeted Evelyn on the runway that day? (a story I began almost one year ago)
1. one of them made it

**When You Get Back**

  
  
The bullet pierced through his flesh in one swift moment. His breath caught in the back of his throat, as he looked down at his chest, stunned. He felt his knees buckle beneath him, and he toppled to the ground. He lay there, not moving, barely breathing, wincing at the pain of his throbbing wound. And then there she was, smiling at him from hundreds of miles away.   
  
"_Don't be scared_," she whispered.   
  
"Evelyn," he tried to speak.   
  
"_I love you, Danny. And I'll be waiting for you when you get back_."   
  
Danny's heart broke in his chest, as he remembered. Evelyn. And then, as quickly as she had come, she disappeared. In her place, was Rafe, his eyes full of panic, and his cheeks wet with blood and tears. His trembling fingers worked frantically to free Danny of his wire bindings. He looked down at the gunshot wound and cringed, closing his eyes and then opening them again.   
  
"Danny..." he whispered.   
  
Danny blinked, slowly realizing the nature of the situation. "I'm...not...not...gonna..." He choked, his words coming in short gasps, but still he continued, "...I'm so cold...not gonna make it..." He looked up into the eyes of the man who had always been there, who had always looked out for him. And now, lying in a pool of his own blood, he felt like he had finally returned the favor.   
  
"Yes you are, Danny. Yes you ARE!" the other man nearly screamed.   
  
"Do me a favor," he said softly, "Let somebody else...spell my name...on the tombstone." He tried to smile, his dying body quivering uncontrollably.   
  
"Danny...Danny, please!" Rafe exclaimed, filled with panic and fear. "Please don't leave me...you can't leave me."   
  
Danny closed his eyes, and for a second, Rafe feared he had lost his childhood friend. He looked from side to side frantically at the group of people who stood nearby, their heads bowed. In the distance, he could see what appeared to be a truck, speeding forward in their direction.   
  
"Just hold on a little longer, just hold on!" he exclaimed; yet Danny did not move. "You can't die! You can't!" Rafe sobbed, holding Danny's body close to his own, "You're gonna be a father." Danny's eyes slowly opened, and he looked up at him, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "You're gonna be a daddy, and I wasn't supposed to tell you..." he cried, his words barely distinguishable.   
  
Danny lifted his head up, and Rafe cradled it in his arms. "No..." he whispered, "No... you are."   
  
The words cut through him like a knife, and the tears fell faster down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Danny. For everything."   
  
Danny tried to nod his head. "Take care of...take care of h..." his voice faded, and his eyes closed.   
  
"Danny...Danny, no!" Rafe cried, pulling his limp body into his arms, and embracing him. "Land of the free, Danny... Land of the free..." he mumbled, waiting for an answer. But his friend said nothing.   
  


+ + + + + + + + +

  
  
She stood on the runway and waited. There wasn't anything else she could do, so she waited; and she prayed. A woman beside her pointed to something in the air. Evelyn looked in the direction the woman was pointing, and her heart nearly stopped. The aircraft was approaching. Never taking her eyes off it, she watched as the plane landed, then skidded to a halt a few feet in front of her. The knot in her stomach tightened as the doors opened, ever so slowly.   
  
The colonel was the first one to exit the plane. His expression was one of sorrow and loss, and he silently but quickly walked down the stairs onto the runway. One by one, several pilots filed out of the plane, and as each one passed, the heavier Evelyn's heart grew. Teardrops began to sting the corners of her eyes. _Oh God, please tell me one of them made it..._ Almost as if to answer her prayers, a man stepped out of the aircraft. His tall, muscular frame was covered in a tan pilot's uniform, and an officer's hat sat slightly crooked on the top of his head, hiding his shortly cut brown hair. As he walked down the steps, he removed his hat, to reveal a bruised face with a solemn expression. He looked up, and his eyes met hers. She formed a small smile, but he did not return it. Instead, he waited at the end of the stairs until the last pilot had left the airplane, then made his way back inside.   
  
Evelyn's heart nearly beat out of her chest as she slowly walked towards the stairs. Rafe appeared again in the doorway, his hand supporting the end of something that was still hidden in the shadows of the aircraft. Evelyn raised her trembling hands up to her mouth, as Rafe stepped forward and began his journey again, down the long set of stairs. She watched as a stretcher appeared, another pilot holding the other end. Once they had reached the bottom, she rushed to their side, the teardrops finally escaping her eyes, and looked down at the man on the stretcher. Evelyn reached out and brushed the chestnut colored hair away from his closed eyes, and took a deep quivering breath. She looked up at Rafe, who placed his arm gently around her shoulders, and she wept.   
  



	2. back to Pearl Harbor

His brown eyes fluttered open, and were met by the harsh light of the sun. Blinking several times, he let his eyes focus, and he slowly sat up. At first he was startled by his surroundings, but quickly, his memory set in, and he recalled the events that had brought him back. Back to Pearl Harbor. He stood up, his bare feet resting on the cool, tile floor, and stretched his aching body. He groaned, and rubbed the back of his head gingerly, trying to ease the pain brought on by the blow to the head he had suffered just days before. He looked around the room, and spotted his clothes draped over the end of a nearby chair. After slowly easing his way into his worn uniform, Rafe disappeared out the door.  
  
The streets were surprisingly deserted for a Sunday morning. The March wind that whistled through the empty streets seemed unusually cool, as Rafe rounded the corner. At first glance, there was hardly a trace of the devastation that had occurred only a few months before, yet as Rafe walked, the ground beneath his feet still held traces of incoming explosives and untimely death.  
  
As he approached the hospital, his heart began to beat rapidly inside his chest. While his fingers grasped the cool metal of the door-handle, Rafe took a deep breath and collected himself. Once inside, a young nurse he did not recognize led him inside the ward. He walked ever so slowly behind her, hoping to avoid what inevitably lay ahead. Finally stopping, she pointed to a small section closed off by a curtain. With a deep breath, he drew back the white vinyl cloth. His shoulders slumped and he breathed a heavy sigh. He was still there, in an almost permanent sleep, and she had not left his side. Clad in civilian clothing, Evelyn's head rested on the bed at his feet, her hair encircling her face like a lovely brown frame.  
  
Rafe slumped into a near by chair and rested his forehead in his right hand. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander to a time and place all its own choosing. 


	3. home of the brave

He had fallen asleep again. For how long, he did not know, but when his eyes opened and embraced his surroundings, he noticed that Evelyn had vanished. Lifting his stiff body out of the chair, he moved silently over to the hospital bed where his childhood friend lay, unchanged from that unforgettable moment days ago, in an unfamiliar country, thousands of miles away. A sudden pain shot through his insides, and he reached out to touch the hand of the nearly lifeless body in front of him. The moment Rafe's fingers made contact with Danny's cool skin, the wounded young man breathed deeply and moved his hand onto his chest. Startled by these sudden movements, Rafe jumped back. "Danny?" he whispered, his voice quavering. "Danny Boy?" he tried again, inching his way back towards the bed.  
  
Slowly, Danny's eyes opened, blinking rapidly at the light that poured through the open window beside his bed. Rafe's heart nearly exploded inside his chest, as Danny looked up at the figure that toward above him.  
  
"Home of the brave." he said in a voice that was barely audible, but one that echoed loudly in Rafe's heart. "Home of the brave," he repeated, this time louder.  
  
Rafe sunk to the floor beside the bed and buried his face in his hands. His broad shoulders shook as he sobbed. Though he could barely count on one hand the number of times he had cried in his short life, the tears that rained from his eyes were enough to span a thousand lifetimes. He cried for his best friend, for his lost love, for his lost friends, for the war, for everything. He felt a light touch brush past the top of his head. He looked up to see Danny smiling weakly at him. Rafe bowed his head, ashamed by the tears he had shed. He was a man. He wasn't supposed to cry. Regaining his composure, he got up and sat on the bed where Evelyn had been only moments ago. Evelyn! Rafe was about to rise to go look for her, when a shadow appeared in the doorway. Evelyn froze beneath the frame of the door, and the two paper cups filled with coffee fell from her hands like bricks.  
  
"Sorry I made you wait so long," came a weak voice from the hospital bed. Evelyn rushed through the door and threw her arms around Danny's bandaged neck. He grimaced slightly, but did not put an end to her embrace. He looked up at Rafe who was still seated at the end of the bed. Rafe replied with a fake smile; he knew that he was more than lucky to have his best friend back, but seeing him in Evelyn's arms again was too much for his heart to bear.  
  
He slowly rose from his seat on the hospital bed and moved towards the door. With one last glance over his shoulder at Evelyn and Danny, Rafe closed the door behind him. 


	4. you really love him

A small concrete bench sat near the entrance of the hospital. It had witnessed many things: the bloody result of a drunken fight, a sailor who had soaked up too much sun, the smoke and fire of a surprise attack, and the joy and sorrow of a lovers' reunion. This is where Evelyn found Rafe, sitting upright, staring out into the sunlight, almost as if he were watching something. In truth, he was; memories of his past flickered like a movie in the theatre of his mind. She did not know whether or not to disturb him, and more than once thought of going back into the hospital. But the excitement which rushed all through her body prevented her from doing this. Reaching out, she placed her hand gently on his shoulder, and as she did, she felt Rafe's body relax. Without looking up, he reached up and placed his own hand on hers. She moved around and sat beside him. His face was pale and expressionless, yet when he looked up, he saw that her cheeks were rosy and her teeth glistened in the smile that spread wide across her face.  
  
"He's back," Rafe said quietly, still staring at her glowing face.  
  
Evelyn nodded, her smile widening even more. "When you both went, I thought I'd never see you again, and when I listened to the radio, everything sounded so crazy, and then they lost contact with you, and I thought that was it, and then at the runway when you didn't come out right away I feared the worst, but then I saw you, and I knew that you would never let anything happen to Danny and that you'd bring him back. And you did! He was a little roughed up, but you brought him back!"  
  
As Rafe listened to her excited ramble, a small hole in his heart appeared. In all the time that he had spent with Evelyn, he had never heard her this way before; never seen her smile so. He looked away. There was a long pause. When he turned back to look at her, he saw that he smile had vanished.  
  
"Rafe…" she said softly, and he lowered his head. "Rafe…" she repeated again, this time placing her hand under his chin to bring his head back to face her. "I'm sorry. Ever since you got back, I've been with Danny. I never even so much as asked how you've been."  
  
He looked back down at his feet. He couldn't look at her. Whenever he did, and he looked into her eyes, he had to use all the will power within him not to take her into his arms. But to his surprise, she embraced him. Hesitantly, he placed his arms around her and returned the embrace. "I'm so glad you're back," she whispered into his shoulder. He pulled back slightly, creating a distance of only a few short inches between their lips. Rafe swallowed hard, and leaned forward. At the last moment, Evelyn turned away. She got up from the bench slowly, one hand upon her stomach, and the other cupped over her mouth. "I can't, " she whispered.   
  
Rafe closed his eyes and breathed deeply, "You really love him," he said in a way that was more a statement than a question.  
  
"Yes," she said, turning around to face him, her hand still clutched to her stomach. "But I love you, too. Rafe, I loved you so much… but I thought you were dead. We all did. And I wasn't going to let myself die with you. I had to move on. I don't know how things happened with me and Danny, they just did. And then you came back. And God, yes, I still love you. I always will. But I also love Danny. I couldn't, and I can't just shut off the love and the life I've formed with him because you came back from the dead. I never meant to hurt you, Rafe. But I know that is exactly what I'm doing, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she said, her voice turning into a sob. "I have to go," she whispered.  
  
She turned slowly, and walked back to the hospital, leaving Rafe alone with the bench, broken hearted for the second time. 


End file.
